early 19c., of writing, from holograph + -y (1); physics sense, "process of using holograms," is from 1964, coined by discoverer, Hungarian-born physicist Gábor Dénes (1900–1979), from hologram on analogy of telegraphy/telegram.

holography ho·log·raph·y (hō-lŏg'rə-fē)n. A method of producing a three-dimensional image of an object by recording on a photographic plate or film the pattern of interference formed by a split laser beam and then illuminating the pattern either with a laser or with ordinary light.

(hə-lŏg'rə-fē) A method of creating a three-dimensional image of an object on film by encoding not just the intensity but also the phase information of the light striking the film. See Note at hologram.